My Kind Of Sportsmen
By SGW Larry D. Luman

On a hot July afternoon, I received word through SGW Jay Harvey, who was off duty, that SGW Bob Wingo had received a phone call from some sport fishermen on Lake Texoma ho had observed three men in a bass boat telephoning and dipping fish in the Washita arm.

I reached Wingo via cell phone and offered my assistance in apprehending these violators. Wingo advised me to go to the northern end of the lake near Cumberland Cut and try to observe these reported telephoners from a high vantage point above the Washita River, while Wingo was viewing the River area downstream a considerable distance from my location.

I arrived at the high bluff overlooking the Washita Arm, and observed the river for what seemed like an eternity, but never saw any sign of the reported boat as Wingo continued to correspond, cell phone to cell phone. The reporting fisherman, who continued to report that the telephoners were headed my way. Sundown came, as I waited in the sweltering heat, glassing the river below me, when Wingo gave me the cell phone number of our cooperating sportsmen. They were growing increasingly more frustrated with the fish stealers, who were netting a boatload of big catfish as the good guys watched helpless and the Game Wardens waited on each end for the violators to come one way or the other.

Approaching darkness caused the sportsman to decide to become increasingly more involved in the take down of these fish shockers. As I talked to the cooperators on the cell phone, the two
men offered their assistance by picking me up in their boat and taking me to the shockers as they continued their illegal activity. The informants relayed how the shockers were completely indifferent as the informants watched the poachers shock, net and boat their illegal catch of large catfish. I met the sportsman at the Cumberland Cut bridge and got in their boat. As we started to go down river, SGW Wingo called and wanted us to wait on him, as he was in route to our location. Wingo arrived and we both covered our uniform shirts with light jackets as we motored downstream with our new found friends. We went around the first bend, below the high bluff that I had been waiting on, when we encountered our culprits at twilight. I guess the shockers were more observant than our sportsman realized, because as soon as they saw the boat with two extra bodies in it, they took off down stream toward the main part of the lake at wide open throttle. We continued to pursue the violators at break neck speed as twilight turned into full bore darkness. I felt my body draw up, as we speed in and out of dead timber and stumps at the mouth of the Washita River, never gaining on the speeding boat ahead of us. Wingo and I talked, and decide that the violators were headed toward the Johnson Creek boat ramp and that we must get somebody at the ramp to head them off until we could arrive.

SGW Wingo called Reserve Game Warden Randy Curry at his residence and advised him of our predicament and need of help. Curry responded quickly, and arrived at the Johnson Creek ramp and following our instructions, hid his truck and waited for the speeding, shocker boat to arrive. I requested Curry to remain hidden until the suspect boat was loaded on the trailer, then block the ramp, so the violators could not leave until we arrived. As we approached the lighted ramp, I could see the pursued boat being pulled onto its trailer, when just like a good movie scene, I saw Curry's white Chevy truck slipping out of its secreted spot and pulling onto the ramp for the block.

As we approached the ramp, I thanked the two sportsman for going the "extra mile" in helping us. Wingo and I jumped onto the boat ramp and hollered "State Game Warden- Freeze!," as our good informants put their boat into reverse and slipped off into the darkness.
Upon searching the violators' boat, we found two electronic shockers and a chain lead still hooked up. Fish slime was noted all over the boat, but no fish. Indicating, that the load of fish had been dumped during the high speed chase. Upon arresting the three subjects, we found two of these three had had multiple wildlife convictions, along with felony convictions. These subjects later pled guilty to these latest crimes and paid fines and forfeited the bass boat used. Now, this bass boat is available for wildlife enforcement on Lake Texoma. This successful capture could not have taken place without "My Kind of Sportsmen" going the extra mile in assisting the game wardens in the capture of these fish poachers.